From the Sidelines
Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2000
MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 9, 2000
A rose is a rose is a rose.
But what, pithy, is a Pythian? Or a Gryphon? Or a Wampus Cat? Those are among the mascots adopted by high school teams in Louisiana. Astate known for the uniqueness of its culture and cuisine has also come up with its share of unique monikers for its athletic teams.
Not surprisingly, in a state whose flagship university, LSU, has a tiger as its mascot, the most common high school mascot is our striped feline friend.
There are 33 high school teams, including Hahnville, in the state known as the Tigers, counting the Bengals of Belaire.
But there are also 28 Eagles – not counting the War Eagles (Louisiana School for the Deaf), Ron Eagles (McDonogh 35) and Golden Eagles (Ridgewood) – and 22 Bulldogs, including Lutcher. And perhaps surprisingly, one of the mostcommon of mascots is the Hornet with 15 high schools carrying that moniker. Destrehan, East St. John and St. James are among 14 Wildcats inthe state, Riverside among 12 Rebels and West St. John among six Rams.The tiger is not the lone feline represented by state schools. In addition to ahost of Lions and Panthers, there is a Bearcat (Basile) and a Bearkat (Bossier). The good folks at Florien are obviously not superstitious havingtaken the Blackcat as their mascot. And ironically, Grambling and SouthernLab, whose local universities are big rivals, both share the same mascot – the Kittens. As for a Wampus Cat, it’s been described as mythical blue felinewith six legs.
Grambling and Southern Lab are not the only schools to take mild sounding mascots. Both Archbishop Blenk and St. Scholastica are the Doves. Thereare the Archbishop Chapelle Chipmunks and the Immaculata Pandas. MountCarmel and University are both known as the Cubs while Vandebilt is the Terriers. And who can forget the Fightin’ Farmers of Farmerville.But ladies and gentlemen, the best mascot may be that of Crowley whose teams are the Ladies and the Gents. But then again, so are Centenary’s.Some schools have looked skyward for their mascots. St. Charles Catholic isthe only school in the state known as the Comets while Holden is the lone Rocket. Loyola is the Flyers and a few years ago had an emblem of Snoopy ona doghouse on its baseball uniforms.
Others have looked to ancient history. A Griffin (North Desoto) is a fabledcreature with the wings and head of an eagle and the body of a lion. AGryphon (Lutheran) is listed as another spelling for the creature. Not to beoutdone, there are the Firebirds of Sacred Heart – Grand Coteau.
By the way, a Pythian (Lawless) is described in the Random House Dictionary as pertaining to Delphi in ancient Greece. The Pythian Games were one of thegreat national festivals of the era, held every four years in honor of Apollo.
They are not to be confused with the Olympians (Sarah Reed), however.
Further ahead in history, the Knights (Episcopal of Baton Rouge, South Beauregard and Woodlawn of Shreveport as well as the Purple Knights of St.
Augustine) would be willing to fight the Giants (Green Oaks and Jena) for their Kings (Bishop McManus).
There are a host of Native American references but the best may be the Warhorses (Peabody). There are also the Pioneers (Crescent City and NotreDame) and the Colonels (Andrew Jackson).
The great outdoors is also well represented. Befitting the Pelican State,there are three Pelicans – Homer, Port Allen and Spearsville. But ironically,Pelican High School is known as the Jaguars.
Fishermen would like the Tarpons of Fortier, South Lafourche and South Cameron. To guide their boats, they could use the Skippers of Mandeville. Forthe working man, there are the Oilers (Boothville-Venice) and the Lumberjacks (Bolton, Patterson and Springhill).
Honoring the culture of the area, there are the Cajuns of Country Day and the Redstickers of St. Joseph’s of Baton Rouge. And a few schools would notlet natural disasters deter them. There are two Hurricanes, Higgins andNorth Central, two Tornadoes (Hammond and Sulphur) as well as a Golden Tornado (Haynesville).
For the college fan, there is a Green Wave (Ponchatoula) as well as a Greenie (Newman), a Crimson Tide (Minden) and an Aggie (Choudrant). For thosewhom the NFL is their sport, there are four Saints (Southside Christian, St.
Louis, St. Martin’s and West Feliciana) but only two Cowboys (Southwood andJewel Sumner). There is even one school who goes without a mascot -Dominican.
But while Wampus Cats is certainly original and the Kentwood Kangaroos slides right off the tongue, both have a long way to go to top the best mascot of all – the Banana Slugs of the University of California at Santa Cruz. There is even a website (www.slugweb.com) where one can go to learnall about the slimy creature and buy T-shirts and caps with it on them.
Top that, you Pythians.
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